Terry McAuliffe, Fundraising Juggernaut

Terry McAuliffe's background as one of the most prolific fundraisers the Democratic Party has ever seen could prove to be a liability in his run to be governor of Virginia.

From left, Del. Brian J. Moran, (D-Alexandria), former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe and Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell of the GOP have a laugh before debating during AP Day at the Capital in Richmond on Dec. 2. The three, along with state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath) are running for governor of the commonwealth.

Bob Brown-Richmond Times-Dispatch

Gubernatorial candidates, from left, McAuliffe, McDonnell, Deeds and Moran debate in Richmond. Some think McAuliffe could raise $80 million for the gubernatorial race, up from the $25 million to $35 million that candidates had been expecting to spend.

Bob Brown-Richmond Times-Dispatch

McAuliffe, campaign chairman for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., talks to reporters on the floor at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Although the Clinton campaign couldn't keep pace with President-elect Obama's fundraising, its total of $221 million raised was far beyond historical norms.

Jae C. Hong-AP

Clinton celebrates with McAuliffe after her election night party in Charleston, W.Va. Clinton performed well in the primaries among working class and rural white voters, a demographic McAuliffe might have to work hard to win over in a Virginia gubernatorial run.

Ricky Carioti-The Washington Post

Clinton speaks with McAuliffe after boarding the campaign plane in Washington on May 13. Clinton's long but unsuccessful campaign was beset at times by internal conflicts and power struggles, frequently involving chief strategist Mark Penn.

Elise Amendola-AP

McAuliffe holds his daughter Sally, 7, as his wife, Dorothy, and special guest Clinton look on at a book release celebration for McAuliffe's new book at the Park Hyatt Washington hotel on Feb. 8, 2007. "What A Party!: My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and Other Wild Animals," made the New York Times bestseller list -- and earned McAuliffe a seven-figure advance, according to The Washington Post's Reliable Source column.

John Mcdonnell-The Washington Post

Former president Bill Clinton chats with McAuliffe at a farewell party for the then-Democratic National Committee chairman at the National Building Museum. "Terry McAuliffe can talk an owl out of a tree but he also has the heart of a lion and he works harder than almost anyone I've met in my life," Clinton said at the event.

Robert A. Reeder-The Washington Post

Clinton and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) listen as McAuliffe speaks at a party marking the end of his tenure running the Democratic National Committee. As chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005, he oversaw $500 million in party fundraising.

Robert A. Reeder-The Washington Post

Then-Democratic National Committee Chairman McAuliffe talks with the man who eventually would replace him, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (left) in Washington on Jan. 18, 2005. While McAuliffe improved Democratic fundraising totals during his time running the party, it would be Dean's 50-state strategy and candidate recruiting that would be credited with helping return Democrats to power in Washington.

Sharon Farmer-AP

McAuliffe holds up a copy of a newspaper with a front page story in which the Census Bureau reports that the number of Americans in poverty and without health insurance rose by more than one million in 2003, during a news conference at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in New York on Aug. 27, 2004. McAuliffe officially opened the committee's New York headquarters, a few blocks from Madison Square Garden, site of the Republican National Convention, and a corresponding new Web site that lists what the Democrats believe are the failures of the Bush administration.

Henny Ray Abrams-Reuters

McAuliffe stands on stage before the opening at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, July 26, 2004, in Boston.

Melina Mara-The Washington Post

McAuliffe, center, meets with his Florida staff in Coral Gables, Fla., on April 21, 2004. McAuliffe touted the party's Hispanic outreach program, while also airing concerns about a lack of a paper trail with Florida's new electronic ballots. President Bush would win Florida in 2004, and would get a higher percentage of the Hispanic vote nationwide than he did in 2000.

Cindy Karp-AP

McAuliffe leads a raft of Democrats in a ribbon-cutting at the new Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington on March 25, 2004. At the event, McAuliffe said that for the first time in more than 100 years the DNC was debt-free.

Jonathan Ernst-Reuters

Kerry and McAuliffe laugh during introductions at a meeting with members of the National Newspaper Publishers Association in Washington on March 25, 2004. Kerry leaned heavily on the Democratic Party fundraising machinery that McAuliffe had constructed in raising hundreds of millions of dollars.

Kevin Lamarque-Reuters

From left: Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie, Catholic University president David O'Connell, McAuliffe, and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News shake hands at the end of a Stephanopoulos-moderated debate between the Gillespie and McAuliffe at Catholic University on March 18, 2004. The debate was frequently fierce, with McAuliffe saying Gillespie would have flunked economics and Gillespie decrying the derogatory tone of a Democratic state party chairman's e-mail about the Bush administration.

Stephanie K. Kuykendal-for The Washington Post

McAuliffe applauds with Alice Huffman and Rod O'Connor at the Old South Meeting House where the leadership team for Boston's 2004 Democratic Convention was announced July 28, 2003. Huffman, president of the California NAACP, was nominated to head the convention committee. O'Connor was named Chief Executive Officer of the convention.

Charles Krupa-AP

McAuliffe makes a face as he talks to Dean during a Nov. 6, 2002, press conference at the Democratic National Committee Headquarters, where party election leadership tried to put the best possible spin on their losses in the House and Senate midterm elections the previous day. During McAuliffe's four years as Democratic National Committee chairman, the party lost eight seats in the House and six in the Senate.

Dayna Smith-The Washington Post

McAuliffe shows off a pair of boots sent to him by Republican National Committee chairman Jack Oliver -- the result of a bet between the two on the 2001 Virginia gubernatorial election, won by future Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner. Now, McAuliffe himself is considering a run for governor in Virginia.

Demcratic National Committee

Clinton and McAuliffe stop by the Sons of Italy Gala at the National Building Museum on May 24, 2001. McAuliffe has had a decades-long career in Democratic Party fundraising, and has a been a key member of the Clinton team from its first presidential run.

Rebecca D'angelo-for The Washington Post

New Democratic National Committe chairman McAuliffe takes the gavel from former Democratic National Committee chairman Joe Andrew, right, at the the committee's winter meeting in Washington on Feb. 3, 2001. Applauding in the background are Senate minority leader Tom Daschle, left, and House minority Leader Dick Gephardt. Both would leave Congress late in McAuliffe's tenure, with Daschle losing his seat to Republican John Thune and Gephardt stepping down for an unsuccessful presidential bid.

Hillery Smith Garrison-AP

McAuliffe prepares for a television interview on the floor of the Staples Center on Aug. 11, 2000.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais-AP

First lady and U.S. Senate candidate Clinton receives a hug from Democratic fundraiser and friend McAuliffe as President Clinton looks on during a fundraiser at Mulrooney's Pub on Sept. 2, 1999, in Syracuse, N.Y. McAuliffe guaranteed the $1.35 million mortgage loan on the contract of the Clinton's $1.7 million Chappaqua, N.Y., home.

Khue Bui-AP

McAuliffe models a jacket from the official inaugural store on Dec. 20, 1996, in Washington after President Clinton won re-election. McAuliffe raised more than $200 million for Clinton in the 1990s.

McAuliffe's Prowess As Fundraiser Grabs Spotlight in Va. RaceArticle | RICHMOND -- With his booming voice, quick wit and gregarious nature, Terry McAuliffe established a reputation as one of the world's best political fundraisers, soaking up hundreds of millions of dollars for Democratic causes and candidates.